Changes ahead as NL mayor readjusts staff

New London - Jane Glover, the mayor's chief of staff, will leave City Hall this spring, Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio said Wednesday. Finizio's office is also undergoing other changes as he begins the second half of his first term in office.

Glover, who has served as Finizio's chief administrative officer since he took office, is expected to leave by April 4, Finizio said.

"She has not left the administration, but she is dealing with personal health issues and so she is on limited time in terms of her coming in," the mayor said.

When Glover officially leaves, her title of chief administrative officer will be assigned to one of two new employees - Laura Natusch or David Pressler - both of whom started last week.

As part of the office restructuring, Finizio has hired Natusch, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the City Council last year, as an office administrator and policy analyst.

"I've retooled that position. It is not going to be doing the same things it was doing before," Finizio said. "Laura will equally serve as an assistant to me, and will also be doing policy work in the office."

Natusch, who holds a degree from Rhode Island School of Design and owns a soap-making business, will focus on development policy and will receive an annual salary of $26,000.

Last month, Finizio announced that he had hired Pressler, who in October was appointed to the city's newly created veterans' liaison position. He replaced outgoing administrative assistant Zak Leavy, who left Jan. 31 to become communications coordinator for the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, which represents more than 7,000 public employees.

Pressler will take over Leavy's $52,000-a-year position but will also become the city's director of emergency management, Finizio said. The emergency management job will not carry additional compensation for Pressler, but about $10,000 of his salary could be paid for with emergency management grants, the mayor said.

Pressler, who lives in New London, served in the Marine Corps from 1989 to 2002 and was deployed to Iraq in 1991 and 2002.

"Between Laura and David and myself, I feel we have the staff we need to keep the office functioning well," Finizio said. Both began working in the mayor's office Friday afternoon, he said.

The title of chief administrative officer will be assigned to either Pressler or Natusch, Finizio said. He added that he has not yet decided which one it will be.

"The position technically needs to be filled because the charter requires the position to exist and there are ordinances regarding mayoral disability that require me to be in contact with the chief administrative officer," he said. "But it is going to be a different type of position. Jane's duties will be split between multiple positions within the city, but the title will be held by someone on my staff."

Glover's salary is $80,000 per year, but her departure in April means $20,000 budgeted for her salary will not be paid out. The half-year salary for Natusch will be about $13,000.

"Because Jane Glover will be leaving by April 4 or earlier, there is money in the budget to fill this position," Finizio said. "My office is constantly conscious of maintaining staffing levels and staying under budget at the same time."

In addition to Natusch and Pressler, Finizio said, the city is close to hiring someone to fill the position of personnel coordinator and risk management,a job that combines two positions that have been vacant for about a year.

"I know we have completed final testing and we should be able to make that determination any day now," Finizio said. "This was done 100 percent by the book. It was an open search to make sure the person hired is of the highest quality. I'm confident the search will yield a good person for the job."

While she is still on staff, Glover is assisting with the office transitions and is helping to conclude the police contract negotiations, Finizio said.